MBA Essential Business Concepts Prep Workshop

Specifically designed for WMU MBA students, this engaging workshop provides an opportunity to learn and apply the foundational knowledge and essential skills needed to be successful in the MBA program. The workshop will focus on preparing students to understand the key concepts of four areas of business: accounting, finance, data analytics and economics.

This workshop is required for students who do not have an undergraduate degree in business. It is highly recommended for students who have an undergraduate degree in business but feel that they would benefit from a focused study to re-acquaint themselves with business concepts that they learned perhaps many years ago.

Workshop participants are expected to have access to the full version of Microsoft 365 to realize full functionality of the software suite to facilitate meeting via Microsoft Teams and completing Microsoft Excel exercises. Current WMU students have access to the full version of Microsoft 365.  Some participants may have access to the full version Microsoft 365 through their employer. A final option is for participants to purchase access to Microsoft 365 Personal for approximately $9.99 per month during the workshop. Online versions of Microsoft 365 are not sufficient. Please contact Ren Phillips (renuka.m.phillips@wmich.edu) with questions.

The workshop will be held online live (synchronously) on Wednesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The dates for Spring 2026 are 1/14 through 4/15. Summer and Fall dates are TBD. The workshop will feature active learning, including dynamic simulations. Students will be expected to participate during each weekly session and have assignments due for the class.